HOPE

There's hope in that valley, I tell my husband as we headed out on a Saturday morning in hope of finding a site at Hope Valley Campground off of Hwy. 88.

We were trying to camp at a higher elevation in hope of escaping the heat that has been relentless this summer in the Bay Area-- lower 80s would be wonderful.

We knew the likelihood of snagging a unreserved site on a summer weekend was like zero, but we headed out anyways since there is lots of places to boondock off of Blue Lakes Rd.

We got lucky that we didn't have to travel too far, and we were lucky that we had nobody on either side of us or in front and back of us.

We nestled in-between trees that provide shade.

Even though the sky was filled with smoke from the numerous CA-fires burning throughout California, we had peaceful views from our campsite.

 After settling in and eating lunch, we headed off to the Tamarack parking area to hike along the PCT.

We passed numerous hikers heading north along the PCT with packs as we headed south towards Lily Pad Lake.

The trail was not difficult, no more strenuous than our Ridge trails close to home, just a bit tiring since we hadn't adjusted to the elevation of about 8400 ft.

The heat of the day was getting hotter, but we had chosen the direction south that provided us with shade from the pines. At the top of one climb, we were rewarded with the view looking south to the craggy range southeast of our destination.

Just when we were about to give up hope of hiking to Lily Pad Lake, we came across a PCT section hiker telling us that it isn't that much further--just after the dried up pond. There was only one couple resting and enjoying the peacefulness of this lake. There are numerous campsites for those wishing a place for the night. It sure was a wonderful place to rest and soak hot feet.

After resting, we headed back north to our car. Along the way back, we were rewarded with this view of the Nipple. I'm so glad we didn't head north that day since the hike to the Nipple is mostly open trail. That hike will have to be when the weather is much cooler.

Back at camp, we relaxed and went to sleep early--like all the other folks boondocking close by. It was so quiet...then early morning someone's dogs started barking at 6 AM...and barked and barked and barked.

We got up, ate, and explored the Valley. We discovered a trail at the end of the dirt road where we were camped and hiked a small portion of that.

 And then we headed down to the river to see its condition. We walked the dirt road checking out boondocking sites and met some friendly campers.

Yes, we would come back here to explore more of Hope Valley!

TeleLi puLaya

We tried to escaped the heat, but we didn't go up high enough in elevation.

We did have a private campsite, site #19, away from the main area, but too close to the camp host that has very yappy dogs. Each time someone walked by the camp host's site, the camp host's dogs would bark and bark.

Did I say it was hot? Yup, around 90. The weather service was calling for low 80s. They got that forecast all wrong.

We tried to hike a portion of 4N14, Spring Gap Rd, but we took the dirt road off the left instead of going straight. We hiked over to the power lines and then beyond the power lines until the trail faded out after a marshy meadow. We did see some cows running away from us. We heard them way before we saw them heading down the hill. We were the only folks out exploring the forest roads across from the campground.

We did see lots of beautiful yellow iris in bloom in the open field by the entrance to the campground.

Will we return here again? Most likely not since we have been here three times now. Plus, there are other places that are calling us to explore.

Exploring Fraser Flat

It has been two years since my husband and I camped at Fraser Flat. We could only remember the beautiful hike on the Sugar Pine Railway Trail from Fraser Flat to Strawberry. We had forgotten the peacefulness of this campground.

Fraser Flat Campground is located along side the South Fork of the Stanislaus River. It was once a logging camp in 1927 called Camp Fraser. Just down the road, by the bridge, is the start of the Sugar Pine Railway Trail, an old railroad bed.

After setting up camp and eating lunch, we hiked the trail from the bridge up to Old Strawberry Road, 3 miles one-way.

For the majority of the way, the trail runs parallel with the river. One can hear the river below the trail.

This time hiking the trail, we crossed many seasonal creeks flowing down the hillsides to the river. Last time we hiked the trail was during the drought; so, none of the creeks were flowing.

We were lucky in coming across a couple of snow plants just starting to peek out of the ground. It's such a surprise seeing the vibrant red plants popping up in the forest's different shades and textures of brown ground cover.

 As we neared the end of the trail, close to the Strawberry end of the trail, we noticed this sign. Someone didn't want folks getting lost or wandering in the field close to the trailhead.

At the parking lot by the Old Strawberry Road trailhead, we noticed this sign.  There was an area with a level area that one could camp. We wondered if this sign got posted because the owner of the land was tired of people camping and trashing up his land. We have seen that within some National Forests of people leaving trash at dispersed campgrounds. After reading the sign, we made our gradual descent along the trail back to camp.

Back at camp, we set up our Biolite Camp Stove to make yummy pizza. We used Trader Joe's gluten-free pizza and added lots of toppings. The black on the pizza stone is the cornmeal. The bottom of the pizza wasn't burnt. The pizza came out nice and crispy on the bottom, perfect!  After cooking the pizza, we continued to fuel the stove with wood for a nice campfire by our RV. We had positioned the stove just under the awning of the RV so that the heat from the stove would be captured by the awning. That heat kept us warm for an hour as we listened to the night sounds of frogs and other campers before heading to bed for a restful sleep. 

The next day after a lazy morning and breakfast, we headed up the hill, 4N13, to explore the Philadelphia Ditch. This ditch is part of PG&E's hydroelectric system.

Water is diverted from the South Fork Stanislaus River about 1.5 miles upstream from the campground.

From there, the water flows though the ditch and across numerous wooden flumes for about 4.7 miles to Spring Gap Foreby. From there the water travels down a 1 mile penstock to the Spring Gap Powerhouse.

After exploring two of the wooden flumes, each in different directions, we opted to walk the fire-road that runs parallel above the ditch. I didn't want to try crossing the flume with our dog. We only encountered one Jeep traveling the road; otherwise, we had the road to ourself while enjoying the beauty of this area.

We discovered an area along the Philadelphia Ditch Trail that would make a great spot for a picnic. So, next time we come out to camp at Fraser Flat, we will set up camp and then head up to this area for lunch and more exploration.

Fairy Hut and Gargoyle

We headed back to Mt Madonna County Park to hike the beautiful trails that this wonderful park has to offer to hikers and equestrians.

We took a gamble by not making a camping reservation for a Saturday night, and we got lucky! Arriving early, around 10 AM Saturday morning, worked out to our advantage. We were able to snag a spot in Valley View 2.

We just managed to situate the RV into site 219 for optimum leveling. Most of the longer and more level sites were already taken.  After a lazy morning relaxing at our site, we headed out for a hike from Valley View 2 campground to Tan Oak campground. We had never explored the Tan Oak area of the park during our last visits to Mt. Madonna.

Walking under the canopy of redwoods and manzanitas was so peaceful. And even though all of the campgrounds were busy with folks enjoying the park, few folks were out hiking the magnificent trail system of Mt Madonna.

We hiked by a couple of dried up seasonal streams that cross the trails.

And we marveled at mother-nature's work of art.

Some of the woodland plants were in bloom, along with the meadow flowers that we saw as we crossed a small meadow near the Blue Springs Trail and Meadow Trail junction.

Back under the canopy of redwoods near the Tan Oak camping area, we came across this structure that looks like a fairy hut. Some kids must have had hours of fun entertaining themselves...unless there really are fairies living here.

After a delightful time of exploring the trails, we headed back to camp for a relaxing evening and pizza! We tried our new Biolite Camp Base oven, which worked wonderfully after we got the hang of keeping the fire going.

Cooking the Trader Joe's Gluten Free Cauliflower pizza with added toppings on the Biolite made the BEST gluten free pizza. The crust was crispy, not soggy like in the oven at home. The wood gave the pizza a nice smoky flavor to the crust too! I topped the pizza with small mozzarella balls, olives, basil, artichokes, smoked cooked red bell peppers, and garlic. It was so Yummy!

The next morning we headed out for a short 3 mile loop before packing up camp. We hiked from Valley View 2 to Blackhawk trail to hike a loop: Blackhawk, Iron Springs, Ridge, and Contour trails.

Nestled beside some of the trails are archery range areas. We still haven't seen anyone using the archery ranges; this is our third visit to the park.

It's very difficult to get lost here since the trails are very well marked and informative on a trail's route.

While hiking the loop, we came across a gnarly, root structure that looks like a gargoyle of the forest. The gargoyle is pointing one down the Contour trail in the direction to a very small waterfall.

We heard the water falling over the logs before spotting the falls. 

We are looking forward to many more hikes in this magical forest with beautiful treasures.

New Brighton

New Brighton had been on my bucket list of places to camp after reading in California RV Camping by Tom Stienstra that this campground was rated a 10.  Well, curiosity gets the best of us.

Husband and I decided that we would venture to the beach for an overnight Spring Break. We were able to snag site 98, which is mostly private due to the high growth of shrubs around the perimeter of the site. 

I wouldn't give this campground a 10 since there is freeway noise and the sites all needed mowing. At $35 and $50 a site and check-out at noon and check-in at 2, one would think the State should be able to have someone keep the sites in better shape. Plus, this campground gets heavy usage all year; so, no lack of funds. Overall the roomy, level sites are nice.

After settling in, we headed off for a hike in the Santa Cruz mountains. I had read about Byrne Milliron Forest as being an interesting place to explore since caretaker, Jeff Helmer, had hidden unusual items within the forest for hikers to find and enjoy.

So, off we ventured into the woods for a hike before heading to the beach.

From the parking lot, it's all up hill. The preserve is 402 acres of redwoods and mixed hardwood trees. 

All of the trails are well marked, with some having interesting carvings perched on top of the sign posts. And numerous posts also direct one back to the parking lot. So it's very difficult to get lost.

After a 3.6 mile loop up hill and back down, we drove back to camp. Along the way back, we made a stop at the little market, Corralitos Mkt & Sausage Co, for some of their wonderful sausages. That place was hopping with folks buying their sausages and sausage sandwiches. Well worth the trip out there for just a sandwich.

Back a camp, Meeks snoozed while I fired up the Biolite for my homemade burgers.

I love cooking with the Biolite. I brought some apricot wood from our yard to use in the Biolite. The apricot wood burned nicely and the burgers were very yummy! 

We took an evening stroll around the campground checking out other sites and looking out over the bluff to Sequel Cove, Monterey Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. Once the sun went down, the campground got very quiet which was such a surprise since the campground was full of large parties of campers at many sites. All that could be heard from our site was the freeway noise. That too quieted down in early morning. The next morning after the cloud cover dissipated, we headed down the bluff for a stroll on the beach.

Will we return here; most likely not since there are many other beach campgrounds that have our curiosity that we wish to explore.